Adjacent Words

Absent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AB'SENT, a.
1. Not present; not in company; at such a distance as to prevent communication. It is used also for being in a foreign country.
A gentleman is absent on his travels.
Absent from one another. Gen
31:49.
2. Heedless; inattentive to persons present, or to subjects of conversation in company.
An absent man is uncivil to the company.
3. In familiar language, not at home; as, the master of the house is absent. In other words, he does not wish to be disturbed by company.
ABSENT', v.t. To depart to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; to retire or withdraw; to forbear to appear in presence; used with the reciprocal pronoun.
Let a man absent himself from the company.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not being in a specified place [ant: present]
2: nonexistent; "the thumb is absent"; "her appetite was lacking" [syn: lacking, absent, missing, wanting]
3: lost in thought; showing preoccupation; "an absent stare"; "an absentminded professor"; "the scatty glancing quality of a hyperactive but unfocused intelligence" [syn: absent, absentminded, abstracted, scatty] v
1: go away or leave; "He absented himself" [syn: absent, remove]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin absent-, absens, present participle of abesse to be absent, from ab- + esse to be — more at is Date: 14th century 1. not present or attending ; missing 2. not existing ; lacking <danger in a situation where power is absent — M. H. Trytten> 3. lost in thought ; not attentive Synonyms: see abstracted • absently adverb II. transitive verb Date: 15th century to keep (oneself) away III. preposition Date: 1944 in the absence of ; without

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. 1 a not present. b (foll. by from) not present at or in. 2 not existing. 3 inattentive to the matter in hand. --v.refl. 1 stay away. 2 withdraw. Derivatives: absently adv. (in sense 3 of adj.). Etymology: ME ult. f. L absent- pres. part. of abesse be absent

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Absent Ab"sent, a. [F., fr. absens, absentis, p. pr. of abesse to be away from; ab + esse to be. Cf. Sooth.] 1. Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present. ``Expecting absent friends.'' --Shak. 2. Not existing; lacking; as, the part was rudimental or absent. 3. Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied; as, an absent air. What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man. --Chesterfield. Syn: Absent, Abstracted. Usage: These words both imply a want of attention to surrounding objects. We speak of a man as absent when his thoughts wander unconsciously from present scenes or topics of discourse; we speak of him as abstracted when his mind (usually for a brief period) is drawn off from present things by some weighty matter for reflection. Absence of mind is usually the result of loose habits of thought; abstraction commonly arises either from engrossing interests and cares, or from unfortunate habits of association.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Absent Ab*sent", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Absented; p. pr. & vb. n. Absenting.] [Cf. F. absenter.] 1. To take or withdraw (one's self) to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; -- used with the reflexive pronoun. If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined. --Addison. 2. To withhold from being present. [Obs.] ``Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more.'' --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If someone or something is absent from a place or situation where they should be or where they usually are, they are not there. He has been absent from his desk for two weeks... Any soldier failing to report would be considered absent without leave and punished accordingly. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ from n 2. If someone appears absent, they are not paying attention because they are thinking about something else. 'Nothing,' Rosie said in an absent way. ADJ • absently He nodded absently. ADV 3. An absent parent does not live with his or her children. ...absent fathers who fail to pay towards the costs of looking after their children. ADJ: ADJ n 4. If you say that absent one thing, another thing will happen, you mean that if the first thing does not happen, the second thing will happen. (AM FORMAL) Absent a solution, people like Sue Godfrey will just keep on fighting. = without PREP

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Away, gone, not present. 2. Abstracted, preoccupied, inattentive, dreaming, musing, lost, napping, absent-minded, in a brown study.

Moby Thesaurus

absconded, absentminded, absorbed, abstracted, away, bemused, castle-building, daydreaming, daydreamy, deficient, deleted, departed, disappeared, distrait, dreaming, dreamy, drowsing, ecstatic, elsewhere, engrossed, faraway, forgetful, gone, half-awake, heedless, in a reverie, in the clouds, keep away from, lacking, lost, lost in thought, meditative, missing, mooning, moonraking, museful, musing, napping, no longer present, nodding, nonattendant, nonexistent, not found, not present, oblivious, off, omitted, out, out of sight, pensive, pipe-dreaming, preoccupied, rapt, somewhere else, stargazing, subtracted, taken away, taken up, transported, unconscious, vanished, wanting, withdraw from, woolgathering, wrapped in thought